Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 06:57 PM.

More than 30 years after a Niceville business owner was found dead, a man has been indicted for his death.

Leonard “Buddy” Phelps of Niceville was killed Oct. 2, 1981, outside his business, Phelps Brothers Boat Works on John Sims Parkway. He had been beaten with a shovel and shot.

Jackie Long, 55, who is in custody in Alabama on unrelated charges of attempted murder, robbery and burglary, was indicted Tuesday in Phelps’ killing, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

He now faces charges in Okaloosa County of first-degree premeditated murder and/or first-degree felony murder.

“We indicted on witness testimony and evidence that we gathered through unconventional resources,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Investigator Mike Irwin. He didn’t elaborate on the evidence.

“It’s been a long-term investigation,” Irwin said. “It’s actually just a lot of investigative work.”

Cathy Hopkins, Phelps’ daughter, told the Daily News in December 2013 that adjusting to life without her father, a man who “had all the answers,” was hard.

She said she believed authorities would eventually catch his killer.

Hopkins could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

A family member discovered Phelps’ body at his business. The apartment he kept above it had been ransacked and burglarized.

Irwin said the investigation was given new emphasis in 2009. Since then, he estimated that 1,800 investigative hours have been put into Phelps’ case.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was brought in to assist because of multiple jurisdictions being involved.

Authorities said previously that the case was broader than just Phelps’ killing. The investigation pointed to a “criminal element” in north Okaloosa County made up of an older crowd that brought in younger associates.

The case took investigators to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, and led to evidence that helped indict Long and his son, Shane Darrell Long, for a 2005 New Year’s Eve beating in Alabama.

Long, of Holt, also served 15 months in prison after he was convicted in 1989 of burning a cross in a black family’s yard near Holt, according to Daily News archives.

More than 30 years after a Niceville business owner was found dead, a man has been indicted for his death.

Leonard “Buddy” Phelps of Niceville was killed Oct. 2, 1981, outside his business, Phelps Brothers Boat Works on John Sims Parkway. He had been beaten with a shovel and shot.

Jackie Long, 55, who is in custody in Alabama on unrelated charges of attempted murder, robbery and burglary, was indicted Tuesday in Phelps’ killing, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

He now faces charges in Okaloosa County of first-degree premeditated murder and/or first-degree felony murder.

“We indicted on witness testimony and evidence that we gathered through unconventional resources,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Investigator Mike Irwin. He didn’t elaborate on the evidence.

“It’s been a long-term investigation,” Irwin said. “It’s actually just a lot of investigative work.”

Cathy Hopkins, Phelps’ daughter, told the Daily News in December 2013 that adjusting to life without her father, a man who “had all the answers,” was hard.

She said she believed authorities would eventually catch his killer.

Hopkins could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

A family member discovered Phelps’ body at his business. The apartment he kept above it had been ransacked and burglarized.

Irwin said the investigation was given new emphasis in 2009. Since then, he estimated that 1,800 investigative hours have been put into Phelps’ case.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was brought in to assist because of multiple jurisdictions being involved.

Authorities said previously that the case was broader than just Phelps’ killing. The investigation pointed to a “criminal element” in north Okaloosa County made up of an older crowd that brought in younger associates.

The case took investigators to Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, and led to evidence that helped indict Long and his son, Shane Darrell Long, for a 2005 New Year’s Eve beating in Alabama.

Long, of Holt, also served 15 months in prison after he was convicted in 1989 of burning a cross in a black family’s yard near Holt, according to Daily News archives.